On short notice, the Army sent an armored brigade combat team to Germany using this prepositioned equipment. This meant soldiers could fly out on short notice and fall in on their equipment without having to wait for it to arrive by boat. Within a week of getting orders, soldiers were driving tanks on test ranges, the Army chief of staff Gen. James McConville said recently.

The war in Ukraine is also another reminder of “the importance of complex logistics in large-scale combat,” according to the chief.